No one can ever replace a player of MS Dhoni’s stature, asserts Kapil Dev

Rishabh Pant has got off to a good start in the ongoing edition of the Indian Premier League playing for the Delhi Capitals catching eyeballs with his blistering knock of 78 runs off just 27 balls against Mumbai Indians in the first game that they played in the league. With Dhoni almost at the end of his career, people have started drawing comparisons between him and Pant.

However, former India all-rounder Kapil Dev is of the opinion that no one can ever replace a player like Dhoni. “You can never compare anyone with Mahendra Singh Dhoni. No one can ever replace a player of Dhoni’s stature. Pant is a talented cricketer and we shouldn’t put him under pressure by comparing him with Dhoni. His time will surely come,” Dev told PTI.

There has been a lot of discussion about the workload management of the Indian players during the IPL as it is being played just before the start of the World Cup. Meanwhile, the 1983 World Cup winning skipper has opined that people are making a big issue out of workload management.

“We all have work load. We are making a big issue out of it. What is workload? Mehnat karni hai na? Kya aapmehnatbhinahinkaroge? [Doesn’t one even want to work hard?],” the former India skipper said.

“Winning the World Cup is not buying sweets from a shop. It’s a mission and at this juncture, I don’t want to be the critic who wants to pull the team. I will not like to harp on weak points but rather focus on our strengths. World Cup is a culmination of four years of planning. I am certain our selection committee has identified the right bunch of players. Now it’s up to the players to execute and also they would need a bit of luck in such a big event.”